Printing Timber Frame and Post-and-Beam Plans: Sizes, Color and Scale
A timber frame set isn’t a typical house plan set. Along with the foundation, floor plans and elevations, you usually get frame drawings: bent elevations, joinery details, peg and connection layouts, and often a timber schedule that lists every post, beam, brace and rafter by size and length. Many sets also have SIP or enclosure panel layouts and stamped engineering sheets. The shop crew and the raising crew read the same pages, sometimes on a muddy site, so sheet size, line weight and scale matter more here than on most prints.
Short answer: print the PDF at the size it was drawn at (usually 24×36, sometimes 36×48 for big frames), in black and white for joinery and frame sheets, and in color only for renderings or color-coded timber schedules. Print an extra set for the shop and one for raising day.
Order prints: upload your PDF, pick size and color, and check out. Or start from the homepage.
Start with the PDF’s real page size
Open the PDF and check its page size (in most PDF readers it’s under File > Properties), or use the free PDF page size checker. Timber frame designers usually draw on one of these sheets:
| Sheet | Size (inches) | Common use in timber frame sets |
|---|---|---|
| ARCH C | 18 x 24 | Smaller frames: pavilions, sheds, porches, kits |
| ARCH D | 24 x 36 | The most common size for full home and barn sets |
| ARCH E1 | 30 x 42 | Larger homes, long bent elevations |
| ARCH E | 36 x 48 | Big barns, timber schedules, multi-bent frame sheets |
Print at the size the sheet was drawn at. A note like 1/4″ = 1′-0″ is only true at full size. Framers often check a tenon length or brace angle against the scale bar, so a set printed at the wrong size can lead to a bad cut. If you also keep a reduced copy for the truck, label it “NOT TO SCALE” so nobody measures from it. More in the blueprint scale guide.
Black and white or color?
For most timber frame sets, black and white ($1.95 a sheet) is the right choice:
- Joinery details, grid lines and dimension strings are black line work and print sharply in B&W.
- Permit offices and engineers usually expect standard B&W sets.
- It keeps extra shop and site copies inexpensive.
Use color ($3.75 a sheet) where color carries meaning:
- 3D frame renderings or perspectives you’re showing a client
- Timber schedules or frame plans that color-code species, grades or member types (for example, Douglas fir posts vs. oak braces)
- Marked-up redlines, where the red has to stand out
You can mix both in one order as separate items. More: color plan printing.
What a timber frame set costs to print
Printing only, before shipping, at $1.95 per sheet in black and white and $3.75 in color, the same price at all sizes (18×24 to 36×48), on 20 lb bond paper:
| Example | Sheets | Printing | With code WELCOME20 (20% off your first order) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14-sheet frame and house set, 1 copy, B&W | 14 | $27.30 | $21.84 |
| Same set, 3 copies (office, shop, site) | 42 | $81.90 | $65.52 |
| 18-sheet set: 16 B&W + 2 color rendering pages (separate items) | 18 | $38.70 | $30.96 |
WELCOME20 takes 20% off printing on a first order. Students get 25% off printing with STUDENT25. One code per order. Price your own set with the plan printing cost calculator.
Tips from timber frame jobs
- Print the timber schedule at full size, with a spare. It’s the page the shop uses most, and it wears out first. A spare B&W copy is $1.95.
- Print one extra set for the raising. Pages handled on raising day get wet and dirty. Keep a clean set in the office.
- Keep the stamped engineering pages in the set. Many building departments want the engineer’s sheets with the permit drawings. Print signed PDFs as is: wet stamp vs digital seal. More on permit sets: permit set printing. Got a timber frame kit with engineered drawings? See kit and pole barn permit prints.
- Kit and package buyers: if your timber frame or post-and-beam package came with a PDF plan set, print it here and have it shipped to your builder or the site: ship plans to a job site.
- Check the page count at checkout against the sheet index so no frame or detail page is missing.
What we do and don’t do
We print your PDF exactly as uploaded. We don’t design frames or change plans, so edits go back to your timber frame designer or engineer first.
FAQ
Can you print a 36×48 timber frame sheet for the same price as a 24×36?
Yes. It’s $1.95 black and white or $3.75 color per sheet at every size we print, from 17×22 to 36×48.
What paper do you use?
20 lb bond, the standard paper for construction plan sets. It rolls and folds well for the job site.
Should a timber schedule be printed in color?
Only if the designer color-codes species, grades or member types. Otherwise black and white is sharp and easy to read.
Can you ship a set straight to the shop or the site?
Yes. Enter the shop or job site address at checkout and we ship there.
Do you change or redraw timber frame plans?
No. We print your PDF as uploaded. Changes go to your designer or engineer.
What file do I upload?
Upload a PDF. We print it to scale, exactly as uploaded. Need to print from another file type? Email us at support@printmyplans.com.
Printing it
When the final PDF is ready, upload it on the order page, choose the size, black and white or color, and the number of copies, and check out. Order by 3 PM ET, ships same day, arrives as soon as the next day. If we make a mistake, we reprint and ship it free of charge.
